Stay
by slytherin05
Summary: "If your heart wants Draco to stay, then that's exactly what you have to tell him." Six years after the war and Draco Malfoy is about to up sticks and leave England for good. Will Astoria be able to tell him how she feels before it's too late? (Disclaimer: Characters belong to JK Rowling) Rated M for language and sexual references.
1. Chapter 1

Several years had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. It had taken Draco Malfoy a long time to put his life back together, piece by piece. He'd been left completely humiliated and all down to his own stupid indecisiveness. Did he want to stand alongside his parents and fight for Voldemort for the sake of sparing his own life? Or did he want to help the other side, the _right _side, even if it meant his death was imminent? In the end, he'd just dithered between the two. The backbone wasn't quite there.

During the summer of 1998 he'd stood trial at the Ministry. It took every ounce of what little courage he had to stand before the courtroom and throw away his dignity, which, admittedly, had already been left in tatters. He'd had to explain his failure as a servant to Voldemort, recall the times he'd been controlled and tortured inside the walls of the place he'd called home and recount how he'd lost his wand - the ultimate degradation for any wizard.

Amongst the public gallery members shooting him filthy looks every five seconds, he'd had support. His mother and father had already stood trial and had escaped incarceration, though not punishment entirely. They had seated themselves as close to Draco as they possibly could have. Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass had been perched up in the top-most row, Blaise's face coolly unreadable. Daphne, however, had nibbled on the ends of her perfectly manicured nails, her eyes slightly wild with worry. Draco would have been grateful for the support if it hadn't have been for the embarrassment of retelling his story in front of two of his closest friends.

Draco had been ordered to pay a 600 galleon fine (which, obviously, had been withdrawn from the family vault) and had been sentenced to 250 hours of unpaid work at the Ministry, as well as being placed under a two year probation period. This had ensured that he remained living at Malfoy Manor, as he was required to reside at one single address for the entire probation period. That, in itself, was punishment enough, Draco had thought bitterly.

The unpaid work hadn't turned out to have been such a big a waste of time as Draco had assumed it would be. He had been placed in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, under the watchful eye of a senior member of staff. Draco had started off as a general lacky. Making drinks, filing parchment, even cleaning; they'd practically used him as a house-elf. But they'd soon realised that Draco wasn't your average skull-and-snake-stamped Death Eater. He was smart. As well as his magical accomplishments he could also speak Greek, the International Magical Language, and he had a remarkable way of handling himself and others; he read situations well and could react appropriately. He never became flustered or panicked. His brutal honesty was another trait the senior staff members came to admire. It hadn't been such a huge shock to Draco when, at the end of his unpaid work, he'd been offered a full time position within the department.

Six years later, Draco was sat at the very same desk he'd been seated at on his first day working for the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He was alone, and his head was pounding as the news delivered by his boss several minutes earlier slowly sunk in. His boss had 'left him to think,' as if he could do anything else right now. Draco had been offered a promotion. After six years of hard work and dedication, it was about time. Draco has transformed himself from Death Eater schoolboy to respected Ministry employee in a fairly short space of time. The promotion he had been offered was sought after by many members of the department, including Percy Weasley who, after all, had been working there a lot longer than Draco had.

If Draco were to accept the promotion, he would no longer be working at the Ministry of Magic headquarters in London, but those some three and a half thousand miles away in Washington DC. There was no denying that the chance to move away, _so far away_, was appealing to Draco. He would no longer be known as the employee who gained a job off the back of court-ordered work. He would be just the same as all the others. Several years ago he would have jumped at the chance. But now? Now, all he had was one thought running constantly through his mind as he sat in the empty office, head in his arms. Astoria Greengrass.


	2. Chapter 2

Panting heavily, Draco collapsed down onto the bed. He closed his eyes for a moment as he attempted to steady his breathing pattern. His heart was hammering inside his chest. He wiped his sweat-drenched forehead with the back of his hand before turning to look at the girl lying naked beside him.

This wasn't the first time Draco had slept with Astoria Greengrass. They'd had mind blowing sex on a number of occasions, each more memorable than the time before.

Four months previously, Draco had been at the Greengrass residence to celebrate Daphne's birthday. The night had been organised by Daphne's socialite mother, who loved an excuse to mingle with other pureblood types. Draco had been propping up the temporary bar they'd had installed in their reception room when Astoria had caught his eye. She was shorter than her sister but equally as slim, with sleek brown hair, and had been wearing a very short, very tight, black dress. When her green eyes had connected with his grey, he had felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. She had flashed him a smile before turning back to her friends, drink in hand.

Draco had continued watching her for the next couple of hours. At one point, he'd been talking with Adrian Pucey when he stole a glance in Astoria's direction and noticed her heading towards the bathroom. He'd excused himself and swiftly headed in the same direction. He'd waited outside the door and heard the flush from within. Moments later Astoria was standing before him. She looked up at him, an eyebrow slightly raised.

"You've been watching me, Malfoy," she'd said, before teetering off down the corridor, turning to flash him another smile, and disappearing from sight.

Draco had stared dumbfoundedly down the corridor for several seconds, before giving himself a physical shake and proceeding to use the bathroom. Had it really been that obvious he'd been watching her?

Several drinks later and it had almost reached one in the morning. Draco had said his goodbyes, and had found his way to the bathroom for a last minute bladder release. When he'd opened the door to leave he'd come face to face with Astoria for the second time that night. She'd been leaning against the wall opposite, inspecting her carefully painted nails. She'd said nothing. He'd smirked, and made to leave.

"Goodnight," he'd said, once he'd taken a few steps away from her.

"It'd be a shame for you to leave now, Malfoy, especially when my bedroom is just up these stairs."

Draco had turned on his heels sharply, facing her once again. "What did you say?" he'd asked. He was a little drunk, surely he'd misheard.

Astoria had closed the gap between them. "I said my bedroom is just up those stairs," she'd reiterated, pointing to the nearby staircase. "I'd be disappointed if you had to leave now."

Draco had looked into her eyes, trying to read her. Was she drunk? Was she unsure of what she was saying? She'd stood steadily and held his gaze, holding out her hand for him to take. She'd known exactly what she was doing. Draco had placed his hand in hers and let her lead him up the stairs, and down another corridor to her bedroom. Once the door had closed, Draco had considered Astoria for a split second before pushing her up against it with a sense of urgency. Their lips had crashed together and they'd kissed passionately. In between their kisses, Draco had managed to speak.

"We barely even know each other," he'd whispered gruffly, breathlessly, against her lips as her hands tangled themselves in his hair.

"I want to get to know you better," she'd replied.

At this point, Draco's boxers had become uncomfortably tight. He'd not been with a girl for several months. Things had progressed quickly, and he'd soon found himself fucking his friend's sister senseless and she had appeared to have been loving it every bit as much as he was. She'd screamed his name so loudly, but he'd been so caught up in the moment that he hadn't even worried about anyone hearing.

He'd made her come. More than once. It had been almost dawn outside by the time the two of them had eventually fallen asleep. When they'd awoken, they'd agreed to see each other again and Draco had slipped away, unnoticed by the rest of the Greengrass family.

Just over a week later, Draco had found Astoria in a bar. She'd left her friends to sit with him and the night had ended similarly to the night of Daphne's party. These coincidental meetings occurred twice more, each ending in the exact same way.

Two months on, and the pair met for coffee in Diagon Alley. Blaise had spotted them and couldn't resist heading over to pass judgement. "I didn't know you two were friends," he'd said. Draco had smirked and his friend had understood right away.

"Does Daphne know?" Blaise had questioned.

"No. Not that we'd have a problem if she did," Draco had replied, coolly.

It wasn't long before the news had spread. Draco Malfoy was sleeping with Astoria Greengrass. The thing was, he liked her. Really liked her. The sex was amazing, completely out of this world, but after three months Draco found himself wishing it were something more. And that was when he'd found out about the promotion at work.

He'd been given two months to make up his mind. His boss understood that it was a big decision for him to make, and he wasn't required to start the post right away. He would be replacing someone who was reaching the end of their contract in the coming months.

As he lay in bed looking across at Astoria, it crossed his mind that, at some point, he should probably tell her about the promotion. They weren't a couple, he didn't owe her anything, but he was completely hung up on the fact that she may have feelings for him as he did for her. He just wished he had a way of finding out.

Astoria was surveying him closely. "What are you thinking?" she asked softly, her chest still rising and falling heavily.

Should he tell her? Now? He couldn't bring himself to. If she'd just confess she had feelings for him, he'd turn down the promotion in a heartbeat. That gave him exactly one month to find out how she felt. One month and he could be gone.

"I'm thinking I have the energy to go again," Draco said seductively, smirking as her eyes widened with excitement.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks later, Draco and Astoria were sat together outside Florean Fortescue's sharing a large chocolate sundae - perhaps the most couple like thing they'd ever done together, besides the sex, of course.

With a mere two weeks left to make his decision, Draco had decided it was about time he told Astoria about the promotion. He'd been wondering how she would take the news, and he was about to find out.

"You should probably know that I've umm - I've been offered a promotion at work," he told Astoria, while scooping up some ice cream with his sundae spoon. He watched her closely.

She licked her top lip slowly, her eyes raising to meet his. Then she laughed, as though a little confused. "That's great, Draco... But what do you mean, I should probably know? It doesn't really affect me, does it?"

Draco placed his spoon down, so he was more able to concentrate on the conversation. He'd always been terrible at multitasking. "Well, if I take it I'll be moving away to America. For good." Well, there was no point beating around the bush.

Astoria's mouth fell open slightly, for a split second, before she composed her face into a smile, again. "Wow," she said, airily. She sounded surprised. "That's amazing. You're going to take it, right?" she added, noticing that Draco didn't look exactly overjoyed.

Draco shrugged, leaning back in his seat. In all honesty, this wasn't the reaction he'd been hoping for. He raked his fingers through his hair. Astoria couldn't take her eyes off him. He wasn't the easiest of men to understand; sometimes she'd watch him, as though it would help her realise what he was thinking.

"What's stopping you?" she asked him, gently.

Draco's eyes snapped up to meet hers, and he shot her a half glare. He'd never once been in this position before. There was always some girl or another who wanted to commit to him. Now the roles had reversed, he wasn't enjoying it quite so much.

"You _seriously_ can't figure out why I'd want to stay?" he asked, incredulously.

Astoria bit her lip nervously, sensing the mood had shifted. Surely _she_ couldn't be the reason he was thinking of staying? She hadn't even considered the possibility of Draco developing feelings for her when they'd started sleeping together.

After a long awkward silence, Draco spoke. "I just thought that maybe... It's been four and a half months and..." He couldn't even say the words. _Why_ did he always have to be such a coward? "Oh, forget it," he said bitterly, delving a hand into his trouser pocket and retrieving a handful of sickles. "For the ice cream," he said, slamming them down onto the table.

Astoria watched anxiously as he rose from his seat and tucked it neatly under the table. She was shocked by his outburst. She wanted to say something to stop him from leaving but no words came.

"God forbid, Astoria, that after four and a half months you should want something more from me than my cock," and with that, he edged his way between their table and the next and strode off down the street.


	4. Chapter 4

Draco had been sure that continuing to live in the manor would have a benefit or two, in the long run, and now he'd been proved right. The grand reception room was a fine place to hold his farewell party. He hadn't wanted one at first, but after Blaise had caught him by the arm and twisted, he'd eventually given in to the idea.

It was a rather odd feeling, standing in his lifelong home amongst all of his friends, that in just two days he would have left it all behind to begin a new life in America. Naturally, his mother had been the most devastated about his ensuing departure from the country. His father had reacted as indifferently as ever. Blaise had been shocked and Daphne had got a little tearful; they had grown up together after all.

The party had a fair turn out, much better than Draco had been expecting. The word had obviously been spread far and wide, as it always was whenever a pureblood party was being planned. The music was loud and the bar was stocked up enough to last for the next five years. Everyone was having a good time.

Over in a far corner of the room Astoria sat alone sipping from her drink. Draco was fully aware of her presence and had managed to avoid her thus far. He was up at the bar waiting for a double fire whiskey to be poured when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Daphne.

"She's adamant you won't go," Daphne claimed, as she eased herself up onto a barstool next to Draco.

He eyed her wearily, sighing. "My contract is signed. My portkey is arranged. My living arrangements are sorted. My trunk is packed. And here I am, standing at my _leaving party_. If she doesn't think I'll go, she's more stupid than she looks."

"She's in denial. She doesn't want you to leave, Draco."

"She had her chance, Daphne. She knew how I felt. She's had _two weeks_ to ask me to stay." He picked up his tumbler, swirling the whiskey around for several seconds before downing it in one, wincing as he felt it burn. "Another!" he yelled at the barman.

"You look fucking miserable, Draco," Daphne said, bluntly.

"I guess I'm just not accustomed to being used as a shag on tap," Draco retorted, bitterly. "Fucking hell. I feel something for her, Daph. I can't just make that go away." He glanced over his shoulder to where Astoria remained seated alone.

"Just go and talk to her," Daphne suggested.

Draco shook his head fiercely. After many moments of silence he asked, "Do you know what the most embarrassing thing is?"

Daphne shook her head, watching Draco down his second double fire whiskey in a matter of minutes. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before turning to face Daphne.

"If she came up to me right now and asked me to rip up my contract and stay... I would. I'd do it. I've fallen for her so fucking bad, it's embarrassing."

Daphne looked at him piteously. In all the years she'd known Draco - thirteen to be exact - she'd never seen him like this. He'd never given the impression that he'd _needed_ a girl in his life, until now. She slipped down from her barstool gracefully, as Draco called out to the barman, "Got anything stronger?"

"Go easy on the drink," she said gently in Draco's ear, and with that she was gone.

Daphne approached the table where her younger sister was sat. "Mind if I sit?"

"Why would I?" Astoria said, sipping carefully from her wine glass so as not to smudge her lipstick.

"Look, Astoria. I don't exactly know what went on between you and Draco but -"

"Would you like to?" Astoria interrupted her sister, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Wha- no!" Daphne said, knowing that her sister would be more than willing to disclose what they'd been up to behind closed doors.

"I'll tell you something, Daph," Astoria said in a hushed tone, scooting closer to Daphne. "He is _amazing _in bed. He can go all night if I want him to, and he's the _only one_ to make me come with his -"

"Astoria, stop it!" Daphne scorned. Astoria finally tore her eyes away from Draco to look her sister in the eye. "He's not a sex toy, Astoria! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

Astoria's facial expression suddenly changed. The gleeful look in her eye slipped away and the smirk vanished.

"He might hide it well, but that man is sensitive. _So _sensitive. He's damaged. I've been sat up at that bar with him and he is so miserable. He feels something for you, Astoria, and all you can do is talk about him as if he's a sex object."

Astoria had become rather solemn. Her sister's words had made her feel ashamed of herself for the way she'd been behaving. In all honesty, she'd been using it as a coping mechanism. She'd been shocked when Draco had announced he was thinking about leaving. She'd found that if she pretended she was only with him for the sex, it didn't hurt so much. She hid her face with her hands, tears brimming in her eyes. She'd been so stupid.

"What do I do, Daphne?" she asked, out of desperation. "I've ruined any chance we ever had of being together. I'm letting him walk away."

Daphne watched as Draco dragged himself away from the bar, made his way across the room, cast a brief look in Astoria's direction, and left.

"If your heart wants Draco to stay, then that's exactly what you have to tell him."

Astoria nodded, took her glass of wine and finished it in one swift gulp. "You're right. I need to tell him." She took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Is my make up smudged?" she asked, turning to face Daphne.

"Nope. You look immaculate as ever," Daphne told her sister with a smile.

Astoria gave her sister a grateful smile, and rose from her seat.

"I think Draco's having a cigarette outside," Daphne informed her.

"Thanks, sis."

Astoria squeezed her way through the crowd, shivering as she made her way outside into the darkness of the gardens. She glanced around and just made out Draco's figure sat hunched over on some stone steps. A lit cigarette was held between his middle and index fingers, though he made no attempt to inhale on it. He simply stared at the ground in front of him. Astoria slowly made her way over. He didn't look up as she approached, nor did he turn what she sat down beside him. Eventually, he acknowledged her arrival by offering her his cigarette.

"I don't smoke," Astoria said, softly.

Draco inhaled on the cigarette for the first time, before throwing it to the ground ahead of him. He exhaled slowly and noisily, and then silence again.

"I wish it wasn't so dark. I heard the gardens here are really beautiful," Astoria offered, after a couple of minutes or so. Still nothing from Draco. She was going to have to tackle the issue head on. "Draco, I'm sorry for the way things have turned out."

Draco gave a snort of humourless laughter. "So am I," he said, his voice hoarse. He absent mindedly began playing with his shoe.

"I guess I just... I wasn't expecting any of this. I wasn't expecting us to be an ongoing thing. I wasn't expecting you to get a job a million miles away. I wasn't expecting you to fall for me... I had _no idea_ in Diagon Alley that you meant me - that_ I _was the reason you wanted to stay. By the time it dawned on me I - it was too late. The damage was done."

"It's okay," Draco said, quietly. "It's my fault. I should have told you how I felt rather than just expecting you to realise. I'm just... I'm not great with... feelings."

Astoria laughed softly and eventually Draco allowed himself to smile.

"You've got a beautiful smile," Astoria said, suddenly.

Draco's face straightened immediately. He could deal with the fact she didn't have feelings for him but he didn't want her playing games with him. Astoria sensed him tense up. She edged nearer to him. It was now or never.

"The thing is, Draco, I'd really like it if..." She paused. Draco finally turned and allowed his eyes to meet hers. "What I'm trying to say is... please... don't go. I don't want you to go."

Draco's heart skipped a beat inside his chest. His eyes flickered back and forth rapidly between Astoria's. The next thing he knew she was leaning towards him. He brought a hand up to cup her face, his thumb delicately stroking her cheek. When their lips met he felt like he was flying. For the first time, their kiss was not heated. It wasn't filled with sexual desire. It was gentle and so, very careful.

Once they broke apart, Astoria placed her arms around him, tucking her head under his chin. "Please stay," she whispered desperately.

Draco wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on top of her head.

"For you," he whispered, "I'll stay."


End file.
